Indian women are becoming drone pilots

DW (English)

In rural India, women are trained as drone pilots for agriculture. But they also spray chemical pesticides. Could this technology be used in a better, less environmentally damaging way?

Transcript

00:00Morni is the only hilly region in Haryana state, and it's where Ambika Rana lives.

00:08Her days begin early, so she can finish her chores in the morning.

00:15And then she heads to a cosmetic store that she runs, which also doubles up as the village

00:20drone centre.

00:24Ambika is the only woman in the district who is authorised to fly a drone.

00:29The villagers now call her Drone Didi, or Drone Sister.

00:35This happened because of a self-help group.

00:38Ambika is one of more than 10,000 women across rural India who are being trained as drone

00:43pilots for the farming sector.

00:47The central government initiative was launched in March 2024.

00:51The programme is being hailed as revolutionary, and women are at the forefront.

00:56Today Ambika is visiting a wheat field, where daily wage labourers normally carry out the

01:01tasks that her drone will take over.

01:05These can include monitoring the fields, spraying pesticides and sometimes sowing seeds.

01:11She charges up to 200 rupees, or the equivalent of 3 euros per acre.

01:18It's very difficult to work in the mountains.

01:21I have 4.5 acres of farmland, and it's tough for even two people to manage the spraying

01:26together.

01:27Virender has booked a slot with Ambika today to test the drone for spraying pesticides.

01:36Since the programme is still in the pilot phase, the service is being offered to anyone

01:40who might be interested in trying it.

01:45I have 4.5 acres of wheat.

01:48How much time will it take?

01:50One acre will take 15 to 20 minutes to spray.

01:59Based on the size of the farm, it would take 90 minutes for all 4.5 acres.

02:07If we had done it manually, it would have taken an entire day.

02:13I would have lost 5 or 6 hours.

02:19Currently, the costs of training, fertilizers and drones are being covered by some of the

02:24largest fertilizer manufacturers in the country.

02:27And not everybody is happy with the development.

02:32Including Professor Vinod Kumar Chaudhary from Punjab University.

02:36He believes the programme will increase the dependency on chemicals in the region, which

02:40is harmful for the land and its people.

02:46These drones will mostly be used to spray pesticides and fungicides, which are harmful

02:51to health.

02:52Earlier, when farmers used a tractor or a tank for spraying, they could spray under

02:56the plants.

02:57But drones will cover the entire area from above, so they'll miss the pests that tend

03:02to be hiding under the leaves.

03:04That means the chance the pests will be eliminated will decrease.

03:09And the use of pesticides will continue to increase.

03:12Even if you decrease the amount of chemicals, there will suddenly be an explosion of the

03:17pest population.

03:18According to Dr. Chaudhary, the increased dependency on chemical fertilizers and pesticides

03:25will inevitably work against the interests of the farmers, while generating more profits

03:31for manufacturing companies.

03:34Gradually, farmers will realize their overall costs are increasing.

03:39There's very little chance of something like this benefiting the farmers in the long run.

03:43The only beneficiaries will be the companies.

03:46It would have been better if drones were used to spray organic fertilizers.

03:52Organic fertilizers could help reduce the environmental and health impact, but there

03:56are still open questions.

03:58Who would pay for those fertilizers?

04:01Would there be enough for all the farmers who need them?

04:04And importantly, will this technology eliminate badly needed jobs?

04:10In any case, the drone program has already had some positive social impact.

04:19Some people in society look negatively at a woman if she steps outside of her home.

04:26They don't even care what kind of work she's doing.

04:30But since I've received the drone, the negative attitude towards people has turned much more positive.

04:39Self-help groups like these plan to train more women and help empower them.

04:44If the impact on health, the environment and on jobs is addressed, this program could be

04:49a huge support to the people who do the hard work of farming in India.

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